Perfection in the Eye of the Beholder
by percyjacksonfan16
Summary: Thalia, a young girl, believes that everybody and anybody is beautiful...except herself, that is. She denies her own beauty and anyone who even mentions it. Can a certain young man change her mind? As they bond closer together, will their relationship blossom into something more than 'Just friends? Or will it crumple to the pressure of a student/teacher relationship? AU. Mortal.
1. Moving to NYC

**A/N- Hey there! If you don't already know me, my fanfic name is Percyjacksonfan16 (I don't know why I always capitalize the p when it's not capitalize) but sometimes I like to refer myself as Alex-but then again, I got that off my birth certificate and my mother who is a shrink.  
**

**Yeah, I'm sad. I've been contemplating whether I should do this fic or not because I don't want to bite off more than I can chew and sometimes my 'pairings' don't fit in. So we'll see how this goes! Au. Mortal.  
**

* * *

**Thalia Pov-  
**

Sitting behind a closed door; breathing heavily and clearly out of breath, I tried to tune out the sound of my mom's whip sounding in the distance.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" I screamed, pushing myself against the wall.

"You think I'll leave you alone after what you did? You didn't do your sisters' chores!" Mom screeched, her cold whip inches away. "You're useless to do this family! You're useless in life!"

As I cringed against the wall, Mom smiled and grinned,

"Let's get started shall we?"

* * *

It's been an hour since my mom and dad had revealed to Drew and I in two days' time, we'll be living in New York.

"Omg! Like New York City!"

Mom nodded as my sister screamed her head off. I leaned my head against the wall. Was it a good idea switching schools in the middle of the year? I'd have to start all over again. Make new friends-I barely had any anyway-transfer my school records.

Needless to say, it was going to be alot of work.

"But what about school? We're in the middle of the school year and switching schools? Yikes."

Mom frowned as she turned her head towards me, "Honestly, Thalia, think of others besides yourself. Your father got promoted and is now appointed to work in New York. You could at least show some appreciation."

With a glare, Mom, Dad, and Drew stalked out of the kitchen, chitchatting away.

I rolled my eyes. Clearly, Mom didn't realize that I cared more about this family than the three of them combined. I cooked, cleaned, even did their school and career work for them.

Whatever. Even if I'd asked for some appreciation, they'd,

A) Deny it.

B) Tell me to stop thinking of myself and help others.

C) Ignore me and tell me to clean something else.

I sighed and dragged myself up the stairs, grabbing a suitcase from the coat closet.

My room wasn't very big to most people, it was an 11 by 15 with electric blue walls. My bedsheets were decorated with black and pink polka dots.

Apart from my bed and closet, the only other furniture I owned was a nightstand and an old, wooden study desk.

I began unloading my clothes from clothes-shirts, jackets, and dresses first.

As I folded my clothes, I realized I didn't like them much. They were either just one color or completely covered-I never liked showing much skin anyway. I was halfway through before a knock came at my door.

"Come in!" The door opened and Drew was leaning on the door frame.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I need you to pack for me." She demanded. I scoffed. Did she not know she had twice as much clothes as I had?

"No thanks. I am, obviously, busy at the moment."

Walking over to me, Drew bent down to face me. "Maybe you didn't notice but I didn't ask you. Do it. Or else."

I rolled my eyes and agreed, it'd be useless telling my parents. Drew would deny it and my mom...well, would 'take care' of me. Drew skipped, happy she'd blackmailed me into doing her stuff again.

I gathered all my books from my desk and shoved them in the suitcase. I collected a decent amount of books over the years-I even remembered all of my favorite scenes.

I would always wish for certain scenes to happen to me, but I would mainly wish to look like the main character, who was usually a girl, of the story. Even though the character would go through dangers trials and obstacles-she'd still be pretty and have flawless skin.

That's what I hated about the books sometimes; the girl character would always be so pretty and skinny. I could never read about a girl who fitted my description-not fat, but not skinny either-had stormy blue eyes and short, spiky hair.

But what I hated the most was my skin, I had bumps that would break out here and there on my face, no matter how close I came to clearing them, they'd constantly come back.

And I had small blisters across my face, past scars that would remain no matter what.

So to make things worse, I would put on some make up but it'd just make the scar even more noticeable-making my terrible skin just as bad.

Even though I would say, I'm done wearing it, everytime I go out, I always put some more make up on.

Old habits die hard.

Unlike me, my older step-sister, Drew, was the image of perfection. She was extremely skinny, tanned, and beautiful. I was pale in comparison to her beauty.

I suddenly groaned, remembering my chore from Drew. I finished packing my last books and hauled the suitcase outside my bedroom door.

Heading down the hall, I opened Drew's bedroom door.

As always, she was on her phone, talking to some random guy. I knocked on her door to let her know I was here, she didn't stop talking but pointed to the five suitcases in front of her large closet.

I dragged my feet to her luggage and opened them, as well as the closet door. As I began packing her things, I overheard Drew's conversation.

"So do you wanna meet at Long Beach?" She asked happily. I could only imagine her face.

"Don't worry about me getting out of the house, I'll have Thalia cover for me."

Of course.

"Oh, she's nobody important, just my sister, and she's not cute either."

I rolled my eyes at that comment-it hurt, and she knew it.

"Your girlfriend is out of town, right?" A pause. "Good. See you in five hours?"

"'Kay. Bye."

Drew hung up and walked over to me. "I'm telling Mom that I'm sleeping over at Annabeth's house. Make sure you take care of the deets!"

My eyes spun in a circular motion once more as I assured her I'd take care of it.

My sister. batted her eyelashes and left.

Much to my dismay, I ended up finishing packing three hours later. Exhausted, I took a quick shower and changed into my favorite flannel shirt and blue Sophie shorts-the few things I'd left out to use in my last days in California.

I sat on my bed and dialed Annabeth's phone number on my cheap, dark blue, flip phone. While the phone rang, I thought of Annabeth Chase.

She'd been my best friend since first grade. She was practically my sister and we were always there for each other. She'd been with me when my father, Zeus, married the 'woman' Heather Grace. It was going to be hard leaving her for New York.

On the third ring, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, um, Drew went out and I need you to cover up for her."

"I know what to do." Annabeth sighed and paused. "You know, I feel bad for you. She has no right dragging you into her god-knows-what business. In fact, it's in the Bill of Rights-thou shall no-"

"Yeah, I know." I quickly interrupted-once Annabeth's gets into something she gets insanely, yet annoyingly, smart. "If anything, I should feel sorry for you-you don't have to help her, you know."

"I know and I'm not helping her-I'm helping _you_. You don't deserve the things she does to you; it's horrible!"

"There's not much I can do-she's a helps other guys cheat on their girlfriends and I'm her lowly slave."

Annabeth chuckled softly. "You know, one out of ten psychologists say girls do that out of low self-esteem."

"Are we still talking about the same Drew I know? I think she enough self-esteem to cover every inch of that thing she calls a brain. That's impossible! She's like a living barbie doll!"

I heard Annabeth sigh, "You're really beautiful, Thals."

"Seeing is believing and what I see isn't the description of sign of beauty, Annie."

Saying a hasty goodbye, I laid on my bed, just wondering,

_Why can't I be beautiful?_

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**A/N- Hope that was long enough for you guys. Thanks for reading!**

**Review, comment-it's all the same.  
**


	2. A Pleasant Conversation

**A/N- I totally forgot I made a new story-sorry about that. And if you didn't already know, I don't own anything-all disclaimers are on my profile. Yeah, so...**

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**Thalia Pov**-

Waking up the next morning, I stretched and mentally prepared for the long day ahead of me. I showered, got dressed, tried to spike up my short hair.

Lastly, I brushed my teeth, applied some make up, and headed down the stairs for breakfast. On my way down, I ran into none other than Drew.

She looked exhausted and had bags underneath her eyes.

"Long night?" I sneered.

For once, Drew didn't roll her eyes back. "Yeah. What's-his-face took me to this party then the cops came and arrested him. So I had to sleep in a sleazy motel."

"Why didn't you just go to Annabeth's?"

"I don't know," Drew huffed. "I don't feel like talking to you anymore." My sister waved me off, going into the kitchen.

I shrugged-this was how most of our conversations went. Without anything left to do, I headed into the kitchen, saying good morning to family.

As usual-they didn't acknowledge me. Reaching over the counter, I grabbed a green apple and a cutting knife-slicing up the fruit as I began to snack on it.

"You ready to leave, Thalia?" Mom asked.

"Yeah," I swallowed, finishing off the last slice.

Mom and Dad had already gotten everything boxed up. The kitchen was literally empty.

"Don't forget to load yours and our stuff in the car!" Mom said as she went out the door.

Dad just shrugged and followed Mom.

I rolled my eyes and began loading the heavy boxes outside the door. By the time I finished, Drew, Mom, and Dad, were already in the truck-waiting for me to get the boxes in the car.

Surprisingly, I finished faster than I expected. So in record time, we were already at the airport in a plane.

I hesitated slightly before entering the terminal. I'd always had a fear of heights.

But unlike me, my Dad had been a fighter pilot in two major wars and loved heights. I didn't like being to high, it made me feel nauseous and scared. You look down and you might be hurtling towards the ground at speeds you never could imagine.

Then the sounds of your shattering bones could be heard throughout the land, echoing as you drew in your last breaths.

"Thalia!" I could literally feel Drew's perfectly, manicured nails dig into my left shoulder.

I blinked, taking in my surroundings. Currently, everyone in line were glaring at me and the flight attendant held out her hand-impatiently-for my ticket.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." I gave her my ticket and slowly entered the terminal. With a deep breath, I boarded the flying death trap.

* * *

We arrived at the condo sooner than I thought. Then again, I had to consider that San Francisco, California, was three hours behind New York.

As soon as we entered the building, Drew ran around the condo, looking for the biggest room. My parents gave her everything she wanted, so I knew they wouldn't deny her the room she wanted.

Meanwhile, my feet found themselves walking across the soft white, carpet that surrounded the one hundred square foot condo. I picked the smallest room, knowing that my parents the second largest out of the three bedrooms.

It wasn't very small at all. At least not to me. It had the same electric blue walls that we had at my old house. There was no furniture yet but once I got my stuff in here-it'd be just like home.

The closet was exactly like my old-small, but perfect for me. Already excited to live here, I rushed down the vacant hallway and to the cab that had brought us here.

Once I got back inside, I unpacked-borrowing a small table from the kitchen to put all my possessions on. When I finished I looked around the room, smiling like an idiot.

Just as I was about the close my door, I heard Drew's heels stop.

"Good, you're done unpacking. You can go ahead and unpack my things too." Drew flashed a small smile at me while texting on her Iphone 4s.

"You have friends in New York?" I gaped at her. we'd only been here for a few hours...

"Of course, we all can't be pathetic and sad like you. I suggest you get a move on it or you'll enter this new school with no friends at all!"

I just nodded and walked down to the hall to her bedroom. As I opened her pink door, I couldn't help but drop my jaw as well.

It was seriously like an apartment in a condo! It had her usual pink walls with a rose wallpaper-but then, she had a mini kitchen/bar with non-alcoholic drinks, a red stereo, a regular walk in closet and one just for her shoes, her bathroom was the size of my room, she even got a new bed-complete with a pink zebra comforter.

I walked around stunned. She had this all to herself. I grabbed her luggage and began to hang them on the closet racks. Once I'd finished hanging the clothes by color, I dragged her shoes to her shoes closet.

It had a large, transparent shoe storage with pockets for several pairs of shoes. Finishing half an hour, I stood up and looked at my handicraft. Drew had five times more clothes than me and I knew she wouldn't stop until her closet overflows with apparel.

After making a dinner for Mom, Dad, and Drew, I dove into the shower, ready to explore New York a bit more. New York was definitely...crowded and busy. On the ride over to my new home, I saw the streets were loaded with pedestrians, mostly yellow cabs, street artists, graffiti, musicians, billboards, bright lights. It was all so...unreal.

Of course my hometown of San Francisco was filled with inspiring art and artists but I always knew it wasn't for me. Unlike Annabeth-who hopes to become an architect-I didn't quite have a dream. New York is where dreams come true. Maybe I would realize mine.

Remembering Annabeth, I hopped out of the shower, threw on some pajamas, and dialed her number on my totally lame flip phone.

After the first ring, my best friend picked up.

"Hey, Thals."

"Hey," I greeted. "How you holdin' up without me?"

Annabeth sighed, disappointment dripping in her voice. "It's terrible without you here. Just about an hour ago, I went to your old house and I had to stop and remember that you moved!"

I mimicked her sigh, already thinking of all the times we had together. "You definitely have to visit sometime. This condo is huge! Once the moving truck comes with the rest of the furniture, we'll be all settled."

After about an hour of just talking, Annabeth yawned, "It's getting late over here. I'll call tomorrow?"

I glanced at the alarm clock, it was two in the morning which meant it was ten in San Francisco.

"It's two over here, I'd better get some sleep. Bye, Annie."

"Later, Thals."

Hanging up, I snuggled into the blanket, dreaming about my new life.

* * *

I woke to the smell of waffles. My stomach growled ferociously, taking a quick shower, and headed to kitchen.

Mom and dad were already at the table, watching the news and eating.

"Hey. Where's Drew?" I said, through a mouth full of buttermilk, Belgium waffles.

Mom grimaced. "Don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting. As for your question-Drew left to check out the school you two will be attending. Your schedule and preparations sheet came in today."

"It's on the counter," Dad added. "You know, you should be more like Drew. You both are starting school tomorrow, and instead of getting lost in the school, Drew went ahead and checked it out. Very responsible."

Although that last comment stung, I shrugged-picking up my schedule and sheet.

"I'm going to the library." I said, walking out the door. It wasn't too long before a cab responded to my whistle.

As I climbed in, the driver smiled at me, "Where to?"

"NY Public Library, please."

The driver nodded, weaving through the traffic before we arrived at the building.

"How much?" I asked, getting my wallet.

"Twenty dollar, Miss."

I handed him the amount, exiting the cab. "Thanks," I called as I went into the library.

As I walked in, I checked my wallet again. I didn't have a library card for New York, nor did I have ID. I sighed, giving myself a mental note to bring my birth certificate another time.

Nonetheless, I entered the building that had "NY Public Library" engraved on its surface. The library was huge! I walked down each aisle, briefly scanning several book titles for any good books.

I stopped at the romance section-my least favorite genre. I stopped as one book caught my eye, it was titled "Perfection in the Eye of the Beholder."

Sounds interesting. I flipped open the book, wondering if it would be a good book.

"That is a great book," Someone whispered in my ear. I jumped at the sound. Turing around, I faced an incredible hot guy.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you." He said calmly, his sea green eyes found mine.

"It's c-cool." I stuttered.

"Have you read that book before?" He looked down at the book, his astonishingly dark hair falling into his eyes.

I shook my head, blushing.

"Well, it's pretty interesting. To me, at least." He grinned lopsidely.

I softly cleared my throat. "I'm sure it will be. Just the title caught me off guard."

"And why is that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...well, perfection is a meaning that gives false truth, because no one or thing can perfect."

Once more, he smiled at me, showing a perfect set of teeth. "Very true, if I say so myself." I blushed at his compliment. "But I should let you read the book and find out."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to check it out another time." I said putting the book back on the self.

"You're not taking it with you?" He asked. He was very cute when he was confused.

"No-I just moved here from California. I didn't bring any ID or anything. So yeah..."

"Next time you come, I'm sure you'll remember your ID." The unknown man looked around my age-sixteen or seventeen-6"3, long black hair, well built too.

"Definitely." I nodded my head in approval as my phone rang. Oh no.

I quickly shut it off before the second verse of "Hakuna Matata." I felt my face heat up. Yep, I was blushing.

Hardcore.

"Well, this is embarrassing, isn't it?" The man said, capturing my attention.

I chuckled slightly, trying to tone down my blush.

"I've got to run." He said suddenly, looking at his wristwatch. "It was nice meeting you, Miss."

"Oh." I was slightly disappointed, but I shook his now extended hand. "It was nice meeting you, too."

He chuckled slightly. "Um, I need my hand to come with me."

What? I looked down to see my hand still gripping onto his. "Oh, right. Sorry."

I retreated my hand, blushing away.

He nodded, brushing his hair back. "I'm pretty sure I was going to need it someday."

"You never know." I said a hasty goodbye and left, calling for another taxi.

On the way, I couldn't help but think of the man with those beautiful sea green eyes.

* * *

**A/N-So yeah...that was a chappie. Took me a long time though, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Have you guys seen the new editing features on Doc.? It's really useful but sometimes it corrects slang I don't want corrected. The only problem is what happens to the Harry Potter fandom? They have those spells that aren't in the dictionary, then you correct and it just doesn't make sense.**

**Anyway, so far...so good. Don't forget to review!**


	3. Surprise Much?

**A/N- I really shouldn't be excusing myself but I switched schools and my birthday stuff...so yeah. Enjoy!**

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**Thalia Pov**-

I woke up an hour earlier on Tuesaday morinig just to get ready. I'd already gotten my outfir I was going to wear for the first day school.

Although I was nervous about what my other classmates might think of me, I picked out a purple ruffled shirt and a pair of dark skinny jeans. After getting dressed, I took a long look in the mirror.

Furious, I shoved my hand in my makeup mag, grabbing and applying mascara and bit of eye liner.

There. Now I looked decent enough to enter society.

Exiting the bathroom, I went to the kitchen, grabbing a bowl of Frosted Flakes. As got up to pur some milk, none other than the goddess herself entered the kitchen.

"You probably think you look really cute today, don't you?" Drew sneered.

I shrugged, literally swallowing my cereal.

"Well, you don't." Drew popped her gum and left.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. 8:30 a.m. I quickly finished my cereal, hoping that half an hour was enough time to get school.

I decided to leave Drew behind-she already knew her way to school. Saying goodbye to my family was useless, no one cared.

I grabbed my book bag and check if I had my schedule, school supplies, binder, wallet, etc. Check.

As I was walking to the school, I hoped Drew hadn't said anything bad about me before I'd even set foot in the building. I sighed, she probably did. It's exactly what she did last year too, and everyone ignored me. Drew told everyone I'd "oof!"

I rubbed my head, finding myself almost touching the concrete. What was that?

Looking up, I saw a girl about my age, with long dark hair and stunning blue eyes.

"Omg!" She squealed. "Are you okay? I'm, like, so sorry!"

"No, it's okay. I just need to look up sometimes, you know?" I grasped her outstretched hand, gathering my stuff too.

"Are you okay? I'm really sorry." I asked, apologetic.

"Hey, are you part of the new family that moved into the Half Blood condos?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just moved here from California. I'm a senior, going to Goode High."

"Omg! I'm Silena, I'm a senior at Goode too!" The girl-Silena-jumped up and down. "I live in the condo below you. Condo #3."

I couldn't help but laugh, and Silena joined in as well.

"I'm sorry," I said in between laughs. "I can't help it. You're so nice and all!"

"Thanks!" She said, toning down. "Can I see your schedule?"

I nodded, digging in my binder for my schedule.

As soon as I handed it to her, Silena began to jump and down again. "We have the same schedule! Well, except for Biology but I know some pretty nice people taking that class, so..."

I smiled, I'm so glad I hit my head! "It's nice too know someone anyway!"

"Yeah! Are you heading to school? I can give you ride, if you'd like?"

"Sure, it sure beats riding the bus or walking." **(Thalia is in the parking lot so...) **

"Awesome!" Silena pointed out a pink Honda Sonata and unlocked the doors.

"Nice ride." I said, getting in the passenger seat.

"Thanks." She said, closing her door. "My fav color is pink. Got it for my sixteenth b-day!"

I chuckled, strapping on my seat belt.

"Let's rock n' roll, Thalia." Silena strapped on her seat belt, putting the car into engine.

We were almost to the school when my phone rang Hakuna Matata.

God. This is embarrassing.

Silena chuckled but motioned for me to pick up.

I flipped the phone open. Drew. "Hello?" I asked. "Yeah, I hitched a ride from a friend...Yes, i can make friends! Fine...alright...I know...Bye, Drew!"

As I hung up, Silena began singing Hakuna Matata under her breath.

"Yeah, it's catchy." I said, laughing.

"You got that right." She said, winking. "Hey, while your phone's out. Put my number in there."

I clicked on the 'New Contact' and said, "What's your number?"

"234-004. Need me to repeat?"

I shook my head. "Seeing as you're driving, do you want me to put in my number in your cell?"

"Sure," Silena motioned towards the cup holder that held her Iphone 4s in a pink case cover. "There's no password on it. Just click 'New Contact.'

I nodded, punching in my number in after typing Thalia. After I put her phone back, I began to get nervous when Silena pulled into the parking lot.

"You seem nervous. Are you nervous? Don't be nervous. You shouldn't be nervous." Silena unlocked the doors, encouraging me to get out.

Groaning, I picked up my bag and followed Silena into the school.

"Trust me, you'll love everyone here." Silena assured.

"I hope so." I said nervously. Silena laughed, pulling me towards a group of people.

"Hey guys!" Silena yelled. They all turned around at her voice, and their eyes stopped on...me. **(Seriously, I hate when people do that! I'm in a new school and everyone stared at me. Like have you never seen a human before? It was a big school too but then again, I showed up on the second day of school.)**

Great.

"Silena!" One burly guy yelled. "Who's the new girl?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's Thalia, not new girl." The group of people behind him snickered, and the guy's face turned into a smile.

"I like her already, I'm Beckendorf, by the way." Beckendorf smiled introducing a dark haired girl as Clarisse La Rue, Chris-her boyfriend, Katie Gardner, Travis and Connor Stolls-who were twins-and Nico Di Angelo.

"Well, you're actually one of the two new students at Goode. I've got to say you're way cooler than that Drew girl." Chris commented.

They all grimaced their faces at the sound of my sister's name.

"At least you don't to live with her."

"You're related to her?" Silena asked, her jaw dropping.

"Please don't hold it against me." I murmured.

"Well, congrats. She's already joined forces with Aphrodite girls-the meanest, prettiest girls in school." Katie informed me.

"How...did...I know!" I laughed, everyone joining in.

After our laughter died down, Nico looked at his watch and said, "Hey, guys. Five minutes till bell rings, gotta run."

"Bye, Nico," The group said, waving as he ran. "Nice meeting you, Thalia!" He called.

"Where's your locker, Thalia?" Chris asked.

"Uh," I pulled out my schedule, reading the top of the page. "2031."

They all high-fived one another, grinning mischievously.

"We all have lockers around 2000." Travis explained.

"Oh," I said, adjusting my tote bag. "Anybody have Greek Mythology for first period?"

"I do!" Silena giggled. "Omg! We have to go, you know who's waiting for us."

Silena pulled me away as Katie called, "You know Rachel said she's got dibs!"

"Who cares?" I asked. "Who's waiting for us?"

"You'll see!" Silena said, pulling me into room D-124. Greek Mythology. As we entered the room, the teacher wasn't in.

Silena introduced me to a few new people. Pollux and his brother **(I forgot his name srry) **Zoe, Phoebe, and a few others.

Silena, Phoebe, and I were talking about random things when a voice cleared their throat softly, "I'm guessing we have a new student, everyone."

Hold up.

Stop the press.

Why did that voice sound so familiar? I turned around to face the face the front and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

It was the guy from the library.

Holy.

Freaking.

Crap.

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**A/N-I just bored you guys the whole chappie sorry, but yeah!**


	4. A Perfect Disscussion

**A/N- Back for an Early Columbus day special! Enjoy!**

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**Thalia Pov-  
**

I could only stare as he read his attendance list, confused.

I heard Silena giggle next to me, "He's like the hottest teacher here, has girls falling at his feet from left to right."

"But...too...young?" I managed to say.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you at lunch." Silena winked, sitting down. "Hey, Perce!"

"Silena." The teacher sighed, turning towards me. "You must be Thalia Grace, welcome to Greek Mythology."

Bewildered, I shook his hand and sat back down-determined to get Silena to tell all me everything before lunch.

"I'm Mr. Jackson, you might recognize me substituting from the previous year, but I was welcomed onto staff this year and will be continuing in place of Mr. Chiron, the former Greek Mythology teacher."

With a smirk on his face, Mr. Jackson **(Sounds so weird.) **began explaining the classroom exceptions.

I really couldn't focus on anything but him-so many questions, yet to be answered.

"Eventually, we'll begin to learn Latin roots and Greek culture, but for the beginning of this year we're just learning about their children, the demigods." He began, pausing every now and then to answer questions.

"So to recap, the gods realized their children were the key to winning the war against Kronos-in fact, most of their children like Orion, are mentioned in astronomy, sculptures, and other objects we'll talk about tomorrow."

As the bell rang, students began filing out, leaving for lunch. I started to leave until...

"Thalia?"

"Yes?" I turned around, facing, realizing it was just the two of us. Alone.

God.

"I hope you got a library card." smiled, his hair falling into his eyes. "I'm Percy Jackson, by the way. I hate when people call me , makes me feel old."

I smiled, not showing my teeth. You get used to it when all your life you've been told you're ugly. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? I mean you could be my cousin or something..."

"Curious, huh?" He chuckled. "I'm seventeen, about to get my Masters' in education. Class of 2012, yeah."

"Is that legal?" I asked, confused.

"Probably not." Percy grinned, looking at his watch. "You should probably get to lunch, sorry about keeping you behind."

"No problem, S-sir?" I said/asked. What am I supposed to call him now?

Percy cocked his head, "Good 'nough for me. Get to lunch, Thals."

I blushed, scurrying out the door.

First time I haven't embarrassed myself.

It's been a pretty good day. So far.

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**A/N-Yeah, short. I know.  
**


	5. It gets worse before it gets better

**A/N- Hiya! It's 12 o'clock so I think I'm ready to update! Btw, I said Greek Mythology was first period and now they have lunch so I'll make it fourth.**

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**Thalia Pov-**

Once I got into the cafeteria, Silena waved at me, inviting me to sit with her and my new friends I had met earlier this morning.

"Hey guys," I said, slipping in next to Nico.

"So...who's the new girl?" A red-head with freckles sat next to Silena, smiling.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Thalia this is Rachel, Rachel this Thalia, she's a newbie."

Rachel and I both exchanged a small smile, hers touching her stunning green eyes.

"O my glob!" Silena exclaimed, nearly dropping her sandwich. "What did Mr. Hottie what you for?"

"Mr. Hottie?" Connor asked.

"Percy," Rachel explained.

"We had a run in last week at library-I forgot my library card and he was just checking if I'd gotten one. No biggie."

"Well, do you know what he was doing at the library?"

"I don't know. Maybe looking for books or searching something online? He recommended a book and I told him I didn't have a library card-after a while he had to leave."

Rachel cocked her head. "That's strange." She commented.

I raised my eyebrow while the rest of the group bowed their heads solemnly.

"Percy's mother," Rachel began. "Last year, Percy was a junior with us. He'd been working really hard in his honor classes and the day he got the letter that allowed him to become a senior and graduate, his mother died. Sally, his mom-worked as a librarian so usually he tends to avoid the library, so it's kind of weird he'd be there..."

I nodded, realizing how hard it must've been for him.

"Eversince he's been really lonely," Katie Gardner said. "We've tried to be there for him but you know, student-teacher relationships don't work out."

A moment of silence washed over us before another familiar face broke through.

"Silena, Beckendorf, Clarisse, Chris, Katie, Travis, Connor, Rachel, and Nico." The smiling face of my Greek mythology teacher greeted us, my day becoming slightly brighter. "Miss Grace, I see you've made a wise choice in friends, same for the rest of you."

I blushed while Travis replied, "Hey yourself, Perce. Thalia's pretty cool-way better than her sibling, Drew."

"Sibling?" Percy raised a dark eyebrow. "Come to think of it, I had a student with the same last name. Are you guys twins?"

I shook my head and laughed, hard. Being twins would mean that I was beautiful as well and that was definitely, not true.

"No, we're not twins. Drew is a year older than me but since she failed her senior year last year, she's a senior again."

A small smile graced his lips and Percy left us with a last word, "I should let you all get back to lunch-don't want to ruin it."

"Don't worry, my lunch got a lot more interesting with you." Silena whispered as he left.

I smiled half-heartedly, still thinking of the twin reference to Drew and myself. I sighed and dumped my food into the nearest trash, sitting back down. We spent the rest of lunch talking about senior year and what we did over the summer.

As soon as we got out of the cafeteria, Silena pulled me into a quiet corner, next to my locker.

"What's wrong?" She whispered. "You mentioned your sister and even Percy noticed you were uncomfortable."

"Listen, Silena, I know you could never relate to this being one of the most prettiest girls' I've ever seen-but I've felt ugly all my life, especially compared to Drew. She's the exact definition of utter beauty and no matter how I try, I will never be like her."

Just then, Silena hugged me. "Thalia, you won't ever be like her. And that's what sets you two apart-you're amazing, Thalia Grace. And one day, I know you'll see it yourself,"

I hugged her back, knowing I could always count on Silena.

"Hey Silena?" I asked after pulling away.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to hang out later? After school?"

Silena smiled, "I'd love to. Let's say...five?"

"I'll meet you in the parking lot after sixth period." I confirmed, the bell ringing to signify another class.

"See you!" Silena soon disappeared into the sea of people.

I headed to my biology class, which happened to be Katie and Clarisse's class too.

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After an hour and a half, Biology ended. Just as I gathered my stuff, Silena waited outside the doorway.

"Hey," She waved. "You ready to leave?"

I nodded, remembering something. "Hey could you drop me off at the library? I've meant to get a book from there."

Silena agreed, saying goodbye to a couple of friend before dragging me to her car.

**The wheel's on Silena's ride go round and round unlike this line break...Apollo would be proud of me. *Sniff***

My new friend dropped me off at the library as I told for the thousandth time, I could call a taxi afterwards.

Silena let me go-reluctantly-and I entered the building, heading for the 'Help' desk center.

"Um, I was wondering if I could get a library card?" I asked, showing a woman in her 50s my driver's license.

"That's actually not my job, sweetie. But you're more than welcome to visit the 'visitor' desk next to those encyclopedias. I nodded, walking over to the desk-it was vacant.

Deciding not to waste time, I scanned for _Perfection in the Eye of the Beholder. _The book I had been dying to check out.

After scanning the bookshelf twice, I assumed someone had already check it out.

"Looking for this?" A voice asked. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Percy.

But I did anyway, I was glad I did. It almost seemed as if he'd gotten even more gorgeous over the course of just a few hours. His beautifully green eyes reflected absolute radiance-his windswept hair falling into them.

"So that's where it went," I muttered.

"Um yeah. I kept it on hold for you-just incase you decided to come back."

Oh. That was...nice?

"Thanks. I really appreciate that." I gratefully took the book from him. "If you were able to put this on hold, does that mean you work here?"

"Um yeah. I work here after school on the weekdays, it's actually pretty fun."

"I bet. Tons of books to read and it's quiet."

"Well, that tends to happen in a library." Percy winked, leading me to the previous vacant desk now occupied by him.

"ID, please?"

I handed him driver's license. A small smile graced his face as he began to type my information into the computer.

"What?" I chuckled.

"Nothing, Nothing." Percy laughed. "It just can't help but notice-I love your smile in this picture. It's much more natural...more you."

"Thanks." I breathed, not believing a word he said. Percy didn't notice my expression as printed out a card and handed it to me.

I slipped the card and the book into my tote, slinging it over my shoulder.

"I've meant to ask you-what do you really think of the title of the book? I know you explained before, but I kind of felt that you were holding back."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I had to.

I had to tell someone and felt that it should be Percy. I could trust him.

Right?

"Truth is, Mr. Jackson, I've been studying perfection since I was thirteen. Finding any way possible to fix all my flaws, so my parents won't ignore me. They focus so much on Drew and I feel like I don't even belong in the family. My parents want me to be like her and I'm trying. So hard."

Tears began to form in my eyes, my throat begging to close up. "But you wouldn't understand would you, you were born perfect. You're not the one who has to hide their face when guests or even family come over. I want them to be proud of me and being flawlessly perfect is the only way."

Percy wiped away the tears, a look of worry settled upon his face. "Don't let them define you. You're beautiful as is and you don't need me or anyone else to say that."

"Don't say anything you can't prove, Percy." I wiped the remaining tears and left the building, leaving a broken man behind.

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**A/N- I really enjoyed writing this chappie-it gave more depth to Percy and Thalia which is crucial to the plot line. So fav, review, sub, and have an awesome day! It's one a.m...**


	6. Drunk

**A/N- Hiya! It's updating time!**

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**Thalia Pov-**

I'd been over at Silena's condo for a few hours and we were having so much fun. We had a _massive _food fight that neither of us seemed to win which, in turn, made us compete for who could clean up the fastest. Afterwards, I stopped at my condo, changed into some clothes, and went back to Silena's.

We sat down, talking while we looked over the schools' SAT plan. I learned a lot about Silena also. So far, she was an only child, her parents were workaholics and if given chance, they would spent every moment with her. She was happy with them and even more when she met me so when she got lonely, we could hang out. Silena wants to be a model like her mother and was already on her way making a career out of it. I told her I honestly didn't know what I wanted to become, nothing seemed to interest me and it had begun to worry me. Silena promised she'd help me find my dream and that I shouldn't worry about it, there was plenty of time.

She also filled me in on who was with who in school. As it turns out, Clarisse and Chris had been a couple for about two years-they were even planning on going to the same university together. I smiled at the comment, they would definitely be happy together.

"And uh, well, Charlie and I used to date." She added, drawling out the words.

My eyes widened. "Really? Wow. How does feel now that you guys are like, practically best friends?"

Silena laughed, her dimples showing. "It's great! Before we started dating, I told him if we were to break up-we would still be friends."

I sighed. "Do you think you two will ever date again?"

"I hope so. We spent a lot of time together over the summer and it just reminded of why we got together in the first place. He's amazing, and I _want _to ask him out-but I don't know how."

"I think I could help you out with that." I grinned, thinking of a brilliant idea.

"Oh my glob! Really, Thalia!?"

"Yeah, tomorrow I'll get Beckendorf to walk with me to History, mention this conversation and get his input. I'll ask him if he still likes you and if he does, I'll tell him he should consider asking you out. Sound good?"

Silena's eyes grew as she grinned and attacked me with hugs. "You are the bestest friend a girl could _ever _ask for. Thank you SOOOO much!"

I hugged her back, catching a whiff of her strawberry scent. "You're welcome, best friend."

Just then, my phone vibrated and Silena released her death grip/hug as I checked the screen. "New message from the Devil." It read.

Silena chuckled softly. "Thalia, who's the Devil?"

"My sister, Drew." I replied, rolling my eyes as Silena begun her fit of laughter. I pressed the "open" button and Drew's message appeared.

**Get home right now-mom needs you.**

I groaned before getting up. "I have to go, Silena-my mom needs me."

The girl nodded reluctantly and helped me pack my things. "Call me so we can ride to school together tomorrow!"

Nodding, I walked back to my condo where my mother and Drew were outside; waiting.

My mom turned to me with a stern expression. "It's about time you got here, your father's sick, so I need you to take care of him while Drew and I go shopping."

"Okay." I said as Drew smiled; mischievous.

They walked off towards the car, talking about what dresses were in style and last month's trending shoes.

Rolling my eyes, I opened the door and once I got in, locked it behind me.

"Dad? Where are you?" I shook my head as I heard a mumble from the bathroom.

"Dad?" Walking into the bathroom, I saw my father pressed against the wall with a wine bottle in his hand.

He wasn't much of a drinker but occasionally, he would buy a beer here and there.

Patting his shoulder, I shook my father. "Let me see the bottle, Dad-I think you've had enough."

With a swift movement, he pinned me to the wall and dropped the bottle onto the floor. The crimson poured out of the shattered glass, spreading onto the tile floor. Dad swayed slowly as he tried to focus on my face.

"You are such a _disgrace_, Tha-Thalia." He slurred. "Do you even know that me and mother have tried to ignore the fact you even _exist_. Why can't you be more like Drew? She's beautiful, talented-a man's dream. She's everything a father could ever want."

Silent tears streamed down my face as I drank in the truth.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying, Dad. I'll be perfect." I sobbed, pleading.

"You're not trying hard enough."

I sniffled. "Dad, you're hurting me." I said, quiet.

His blue eyes meant mine before reaching down and grabbing a shard of glass.

Sharp glass.

"Please, don't do this. I'll try harder from now on." I whimpered. "Just don't."

He gave me a look of pity as the glass tore through my shoulder. I screamed in pain, my eyes wheeling.

"Please!" I cried, feeling the blood gush out.

My father just laughed and pulled the shard from out my shoulder. I winced in pain, holding the wound. With a slight movement, I was thrown onto the ground, gasping as my father pressed his foot against my windpipe. The wind was knocked out of me and I could feel every inch of pain.

My head hitting the hard floor.

My lungs screaming for mercy.

The look of pleasure set upon his face.

With newfound strength, I pushed his weight off me and ran to my room. His footsteps sounded in my ear as I locked the door, hiding beneath my bed.

Dad cursed and pounded as my door, shaking the room. After a moment of deadly silence, the banging stopped, and I heard his feet shuffle away.

I waited a few more minutes then proceeded to clean up the bathroom and heal my wound. I took a shower, scrubbing abrasively against my skin.

I was so upset; I couldn't tell the difference between the water or my tears. Ending my shower, I pulled on my pajamas and applied a bandage to my shoulder. When I checked up on my dad, he was sound asleep on his bed.

The evidence had been cleaned up and my father wouldn't remember anything-due to his drunken state. No one would.

Except me.

Trudging back into my room, I curled up into a ball and cried myself to sleep.

My head throbbed and my throat felt dry but I didn't care-now I knew what my family really thought of me.

They didn't want me because _I _wasn't the golden child.

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**A/N- Yeah...so good chappie.**


	7. A disruption in class

**A/N- New chapters, trying to update more...**

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Waking up the next morning, I showered, brushed my teeth, applied my makeup, and dressed in a thin long-sleeved black shirt. I put on some jeans and black converse, walking out the door.

"Where are you going?" Mom asked.

"School. I'll have breakfast over there." I said quietly.

Mom flashed me a weird look but went back to making waffles.

I headed out and waited for Silena in the parking lot.

My mind was still trying to wrap around last nights' events. I was so angry.

Both mom and Drew knew dad's condition and left me to look after him.

I mean, how much cruelness would I have to go through?

I was pulled out my thoughts when Silena approached me.

"Hey Thalia!"

I didn't trust my voice seeing as how I was still a little shaken up. I nodded my head and gave a weak smile. I could tell by my friend's expression that she knew something was wrong. She pulled me into a hug, patting my shoulder.

"If you wanna talk about it-I'm here, kay?" Silena stated as we parted.

I smiled-I was not going to let my issues stop me from having fun at school.

"Let's go, I have a meeting with Beckendorf today." I grinned and linked our arms.

"Oh my glob, I was up all night thinking about what he's going to say. What if he doesn't like me? It would be awkward being around him!"

"Don't worry, he likes you. Trust me." I said as we made our way towards her car.

"I'm glad you're okay, Thalia. You had me worried for a second there, I still am but I'm not going to pressure you to say anything you don't want to."

I sighed. Did I really want to tell her? She'd only worry more and I knew today meant a lot to her.

"It's nothing, my shoulder just hurts from the work out session I did on the TV yesterday. No biggie."

That seemed to do it because Silena smiled and rubbed my arm. "Don't worry, it'll go away. Make sure you don't lift anything heavy, though."

We reached her car and Silena unlocked the doors. I threw my bag in and slid into the passenger seat.

"What's that?" Silena pointed to my bag.

"Huh? Oh that's a book I got from the library. 'Perfection in the Eye of the Beholder.' Mr. Jackson recommended it."

"I still can't imagine Percy at the library-not after his mom's death."

I shrugged. "Yeah, well. I saw him there before I knew he was my teacher."

"Then you were disappointed when you found out, huh?" Silena muttered. "He's really cute-I don't blame you."

I chuckled, "Yep, I wonder why he's single? I'm pretty sure he's got all the women from the teachers' lounge going after him."

Silena nodded. "Imagine Mrs. Dodd's-the old Algebra teacher. 'Oh Mr. Jackson I'd like to show you some of my tutoring skills after school some day.'" My friend sounded like a dying moose.

I pretended to make a gagging noise as Silena started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. We were still laughing when we pulled into the school parking lot. Entering the school entrance, I spotted Percy. He smiled at me and I returned the gesture; getting lost in his radiant smile. His lips curled up, smiling even wider.

"Uh hello? Thalia? Earth to Thalia?" Beckendorf asked. I jumped at the sound of his voice-not realizing I was staring off into Percy's eyes.

"Oh, hey!" I greeted, hugging everyone, "Um Beckendorf, walk me to history?"

Beckendorf stuck his hands in his pockets. "Sure but why can't Silena take you-you both have that class together."

I cursed mentally. "W-we do but Silena has to go to the office." I looked over to Silena, mouthing for her to play along. She nodded.

"Office?" Clarisse asked. "What'd you do this time."

My friend smiled nervously. "Well uh…I…um well you see."

I swallowed, grasping for a lie. "Uh, she got…in trouble for…wearing that tank top yesterday. You know, the 'no shoulder' rule."

"That's Silena-always getting dress coded." Rachel laughed.

Beckendorf nodded in understanding. "I guess we'd better go early so I won't be late for my class."

I smiled. "M'kay. See you later guys!"

"Bye, Thalia!" They called back as Silena looked nervous but yet, happy. Once we reached the hallway, I began telling my friend about the conversation.

"So yesterday, I went over to Silena's place after school. We had an epic food fight but none of us won."

He laughed at that. "Yeah, Silena can hold some pretty intense food fights. Back when we dated, she always won."

I tried to gasp in surprise, pretending like I hadn't known. "You guys dated?"

He grinned. "Yep. But we broke up because I couldn't tell her how I felt. I was just confused because it was only about five months into the relationship and I just thought it was too early tell her…"

"That you loved her." I finished. "Let me guess, you also didn't say it because you didn't want to ruin the relationship if she didn't love you back."

"Yeah, but I'm glad we kept our promise to be friends. I'd rather have her be in my life than not." Beckendorf sighed. "The thing is, Thalia, every time I look at her, I think back to when we were dating…I want it all back. I want _her_ back."

I smiled, Beckendorf was the guy for Silena and he would treat her right. "You're really sweet Beckendorf," I commented, pulling him in for a hug. "I think you should ask Silena out again."

He looked at me, his eyes widening. "I can't do that. She might say no or laugh at me or both. No. No, I can't."

"Okay, I lied. I did know you two dated because Silena told me. She wants to get back together, but she doesn't want to make the first move."

Beckendorf chuckled. "Really, Thalia?"

I nodded. "Totally. I made up Silena needing to go to office so I could tell you how she felt. Go for it, I know she'll say yes."

My friend nodded, smiling wider with every nod. **(A/N- Don't they have a class to go to…?)**

I'll ask her out during lunch in front of everyone-so she knows I'm serious. Sound good?"

"Perfect!"

Beckendorf hugged me before exhaling in relief. "I owe you, Thalia. I really don't know what I'd do without you. You. Are. A. Lifesaver."

I laughed, "Anytime, Beckendorf. I just want to see you and Silena happy. Preferably together. Now, I promise I won't say a word to Silena so she won't see it coming, kay?"

He hugged me tightly again and I could feel my windpipe being crushed.

"No PDA you two." A voice whispered behind me. **(PDA=public display(s) of affection.)**

Percy's voice approached me, creating melody in the sound waves.

Beckendorf pulled away and smirked. "What so I can't hug my lifesaver? Is that how it is now, Perce?"

Percy and I both laughed.

"Lifesaver? And why is Ms. Grace a lifesaver?" Percy questioned.

I began to blush. "I uh….kind of played match maker, I guess?"

Percy gave a small smile and turned to Beckendorf. "Good luck on your match, man. But the bell rang several minutes ago, you should head to class. I'll take Thalia to her class, take this pass."

Beckendorf took the pass and gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled as I watched happily whistled to class.

Percy began walking and I followed; silent.

"If you don't mind me asking…what was that about?" He asked, grinning.

"Well, Beckendorf and Silena like each other so I kind of played Cupid and struck the arrow."

Percy laughed, stopping to look at me. "Cupid's arrow, huh? You know, when the arrow makes contact with someone, it makes that person fall in love with the first living thing it sees. And if you just aimed an 'arrow' at Beckendorf, the first person he saw was…you."

Then his eyes saddened. "And we can't have that, right?"

My face was less than five inches away from his, make the blood rush to my face.

"How do you know all this stuff?" I breathed.

"I mean, a lot of people know this but I got that from Greek mythology. In the myths, Cupid's name was Eros, and he was a son of Aphrodite-the love goddess. Did the same thing as Cupid, just different name."

"I guess love exists everywhere, even in myths." I stuck my hands in my pockets, feeling uncomfortable talking about love.

"Love's a powerful thing, Thalia." He commented, his sea green eyes smoldering.

"It's also a myth." I murmured.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"You know how children love their parents and all?"

My teacher nodded. "Yeah, I know what that's like," His voice was soft-a ghostly whisper.

"Well, there's _that_ kind of love and there's the 'real' love. You know, where you buy your significant other flowers and crap. That thing where you get butterflies and can't control your emotions. When you can't stop thinking about that 'one' person. That one person who makes your heart stop when you look into his deep, beautiful green eyes…"

"Of course, there's 'real' love. Then there's forbidden love." Percy's eyes bore deep into mine. **(A/N-You know, shouldn't there be people in the hall? Bathroom breaks? Time to bring it back to reality.)**

"That kind of love where you want to be with someone but you can't. You also can't help but to fall for them. That kind of love where someone could lose their job because of it. Where someone could lose their friends and be labeled inappropriately."

I swallowed, tears forming into my eyes. Like always, I'd taken it too far. "Mr. Jackson," I chocked, barely getting the words out. I wanted to die, right then, right there. "I know we couldn't possibly be together. I made it all up in my head…I'm sorry…just a stupid teacher crush…I don't want you to lose your job. I mean I haven't even been here for more than a week and I've already made a fool of myself. I'm so stupi-"

Percy then pressed a finger to my mouth, his eyes smiling sadly. "I wasn't talking about you, Thalia."

Wait, what?

Did that mean that he was falling for me? No, that can't be possible. Him and me? Me, the ugliest person to ever walk this earth and him, the man with the looks of a god?

No, it didn't work that way. _Society_ didn't work that way. The beautiful people get together and shun the imperfections. Beauty and the Beast wasn't real. Percy and I should never be together, never be _seen_ together-otherwise _he_ would get shunned.

Although I didn't realize it, Percy had started back to walking again, heading for my class at the end of the corridor. I pretended like his statement didn't faze me, and walked beside him.

When we approached the class, Percy knocked on the door. Mr. Prometheus excused himself and came over.

"Yes, Mr. Jackson?"

Percy put his hand on the small of my back, giving a slight nod. I froze at his touch, my heart rate quickened.

"I was just escorting Miss Grace to class. I apologize for delay-I had to talk to her about her schedule." My teacher gently pushed me forward and I shuffled to my seat next to Silena, shocked.

How did he managed to lie that fast?

Sure, anyone can make up a white lie but that was almost like reflex action.

It was Silena's voice that broke me out from my thoughts. "So what happened?"

"Huh? Nothing happened, Silena. I swear! We were just talking about…Cupid…arrow…Beauty and the Beast." I trailed off, staring at Percy talking to Mr. Prometheus at the doorway.

"What? No, I meant with Charlie. What happened?" Silena clarified.

I really needed to calm down. "Oh um, I can't tell you, sorry. I promised Beckendorf."

Silena huffed. "Did he say something bad? Does this mean he doesn't want to get back together and you're not fixing to tell me because you know I'll burst into tears and die?"

"No, no. He said good things. You're in good hands, Silena-don't worry."

She calmed down, trusting me. "Thanks, Thalia. For everything. I really appreciate it."

"Don't thank me yet." I winked.

"Alright class, let's focus on the lesson. War of 1812. What are the causes of this war?" I looked up at Mr. Prometheus and then at the door.

Percy had left and I missed him already. The class period ticked away slowly, but it was one second closer to Greek Mythology.

Before I knew it, three periods passed. It was time for fourth period. Greek Mythology.

I couldn't help the huge grin that stretched across my face. Silena and I sat together, my happiness rubbing off of her. She smiled and continued writing 'Silena and Charlie. Together, forever.' on notebook paper.

I heard a throat clear softly and turned to see Percy and all his godly beauty calling for attention. The class stopped talking and faced him. "Good afternoon, guys. We're beginning a new lesson on Hermes, god of messengers. In order to understand the god of messengers, we should start going old school and write letters. Back in Hermes's days, the letters were usually in a poem format. Write a letter to Aphrodite about the way you view yourself but it has to be in poem format. It can be any style-free style, haiku, ABAB, AABB. Anything you can think of. You've got the whole class period to start and I'll allow you to work with a partner. This should take a huge chunk of our week so, don't forget to bring your poem to class everyday."

I turned to Silena and she handed me a piece of notebook paper.

"Alright," She sighed. "How do we do this?"

"Well, seeing it's about ourselves, we should pick a trait or…hmmm, maybe if we...no…how about…no, that won't make sense." I shrugged, defeated. "I don't know what to do."

Silena raised her hand and a moment later, Percy approached us.

"Yes, ladies? You guys stuck on something?"

A sharp pain suddenly erupted in my shoulder, throbbing. The room spun around and my breaths became shallow. The last thing I saw was Percy's concerned face before spiraling into the darkness.


End file.
